Half Set
by PointBlank1
Summary: We all know what became of Fred Weasley, but this story follows George shortly after the Battle at Hogwarts. There just might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Rated T for minor swearing, general darkness, etc.
1. Chapter 1

George could hardly stand to look at the garish storefront. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was once the place he was happiest, but he wasn't sure he could go back inside.

He held the key in his hand. It was pewter and had a gold 'G' at the top. Next to that key, the other dangled uselessly on the keychain- the one with the gold 'F.'

George didn't cry. He really wasn't the type, and besides, he doubted that any tears remained inside him. Instead, he frowned sadly at the bright door leading into the shop. Well, he had to go in sometime.

He turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open. Even though he'd walked in those doors hundreds of times, the wonders inside still took him by surprise sometimes. Charmed airplanes were still soaring around the shop, and boxes of brightly colored Skiving Snackboxes lined the shelves in front of the till.

George closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Why did he have to come to this place again? He had once loved it, but now the cheerfulness of it mocked him.

He went to the back room and took inventory without really thinking about what he was doing. Before he knew it, George had made his way to his and Fred's flat above the shop and collapsed into his bed.

Tomorrow would be the day Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes reopened for the first time since Fred's death. Nearly everyone George knew had promised to come. He wasn't really looking forward to their presence. He'd grown tired of their concerned faces, and didn't want to reassure them any more. _Yes, I'm fine. Of course I miss him sometimes, but life goes on, you know? _

He was awoken the next day by Verity, the young blond witch who worked as second-in-command of the store. "Up and at 'em, Georgey!" She was already wearing her staff robes, and when George opened one eye, he saw that the sun was already high in the sky.

"What's the time? Shouldn't we be open?"

"Past nine. I wanted to let you get a little extra sleep. Come on, people are lining up at the door!"

George rushed into the tiny bathroom of the flat and tried to hurry up with his bath. As usual, he couldn't get his ear-patch to stay on. Without it, though, nothing would keep the water from rushing into the hole on the side of his face.

When he finally emerged in his magenta staff robes, Verity was close to bursting with enthusiasm. "Time to open up! Hope you're ready for a mob!"

She flipped the sign on the window from "GO WASTE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!" to "COME IN ALREADY!"

To George's horror, the very first people to walk in were his parents. They'd brought along Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and... oh God. It was the group therapist again.

"George!" the four teenagers smiled and came up to him. Behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood with Madame Hoppinshaft, who was carrying a magical voice recorder, as usual.

After being hugged and greeted by his friends and family, Madame Hoppinshaft spoke for the first time, "George, lovely to see you again. Your parents wanted me to come along so we could all chat again, all right?" George looked at his parents' shining, hopeful faces. Madame had a way of persuasion that only seemed to work on middle-aged witches and wizards like his parents. As she spoke, she tilted her head first one way, then the other, like a soothing chant.

"Erm. Okay. To the back room, then?" George didn't even pretend he was happy to see Madame Hoppinshaft. Every time he saw her, she somehow made him look like a head case (a theory that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed all too eager to accept).

The group sat in the back room and looked at Madame. Ginny and Harry held hands, while Ron put his arm around Hermione. George tried to ignore the pang of envy he felt in his chest.

"Well, let's get started, shall we, everyone?" Madame's voice trilled. "First, I'd like to begin by going around the circle and telling the group their worries."

_Worries?! This woman knows nothing about my "worries."_

"Mr. Weasley? Let's start with you and go clockwise, if you please."

"Certainly. Well, worries..." George didn't listen to his parents' petty worries, or to Ron's or Hermione's. He knew they were all worried about him. Worried that he wasn't healing, worried that none of their sympathies made a difference. Something that Ginny said made him sit up and take notice, though:

"I'm worried that things will never be the same as before losing Fred, or all those Aurors. Sometimes it just seems so impossible, that all this business with Voldemort is behind us... because how can it be, without my brother?" She was close to tears now, and Harry rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Yes, yes, I think you've tapped into a healthy aura today, Ginny. Don't be afraid to let your feelings out. And now we move on to George. Worries, George?"

George was trying to think of something to say, but he was drawing a blank. "Worry" wasn't the right word for his situation. "Hollowness," maybe. But what was he worried about? What even _mattered_ to worry about?

"George?"

"I'm not worried."

"Come now, my dear boy, everybody worries! See, all these people," she gestured with her hand to the others, "They all admit to it. Just share one."

"I'm not worried anymore! There is NOTHING to worry about. Don't you get it?"

He stormed out of the back room breathing sharply. To make matters worse, as he left, he heard Hoppinshaft mutter, "Ahh, well I'll have to add 'paranoid outbursts' to that list.. now where did I put it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ** I realized that I forgot to put a disclaimer in front of the first chapter, so I'm expecting a court summons any day now. But here's the truth: I am NOT the writer of the original Harry Potter books. (gasp!) Not even one of them! Sorry for the confusion I'm sure that caused...

Also (and with sincerity this time), thanks a million to the reviewers from my first chapter: Quoheleth, Krystin, Razzledazzle41191, and Lustoflostlove. I really appreciate it, guys!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ginny watched with dismay as her brother left the back room. That idiot woman didn't know the least bit what she was doing, that much was obvious. She couldn't pry George open by force. Honestly! What were her parents thinking, letting Hoppinshaft near poor George?

"Well, I never!" The therapist was shaking her head. "Let the record know that George has just departed from the room... TOTALLY unprovoked, I might add. I think a serious mood-altering potion might be in order... I am growing increasingly certain that this boy is of unstable mind, I'm afraid." At this, Mrs. Weasley looked alarmed. She clutched a hand over her mouth, while Mr. Weasley paled and stared straight ahead.

"Unprovoked? Unstable? What a load of..." Harry spoke up for the first time, using some choice curse words. Ginny turned towards him and was reminded for the millionth time how much she loved him.

"Ahh, Harry, you've spoken up! What would you like to share?" Hoppinshaft looked delighted to finally get some participation out of Harry, who, up until now, had been stubbornly silent.

"Oh, nothing really. Just that I think George acted like a saint just now, compared to what you deserved. This happens every time we meet. Don't you get it? You can't pretend to know everything inside his head! Sometimes things happen where you just can't relate, no matter how many crap credentials or fancy titles you have!"

Hoppinshaft was appauled. "Harry! How can you say that? I was only trying to help George communicate his feelings. If you understood subtle psychology..."

"Subtle psychology? Maybe you should reread that chapter, _Madame_. It was obvious what you were trying to do. I don't know what I'm still doing here. Ginny, ready to go?"

"Been ready for AGES. Sorry, mum, dad... but I don't think either of you know what you're doing."

"Umm... I think Ron and I need to be leaving too, actually... Come ON, Ron!" Hermione tugged Ron to his feet (Ron was looking from Hermione to his parents with a panicked expression). "We agree with Harry."

Just as Hermione was heading out the door, Hoppinshaft called in her delicate voice, "Oh, dear. Don't you ever do what _you _want, instead of siding with that boy?"

Ron whirled around. All the traces of fear had left his face. "They're the same things."

George saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry come rushing out of the back room shortly after he'd left himself. For some reason, Harry looked agitated, and was leading a grinning Ginny by the hand. Ron and Hermione followed them, and they somehow looked more determined than they had before. Without another backward glance, they all hurried out of the store.

George probably should have been curious about the group, but couldn't focus on them for long. The store was packed, as expected. Waves of familiar (and unfamiliar) faces swam around him, all wanting to speak with him.

"How much does this cost?"

"Oh... hello, how are you holding up?"

And the worst question: "Where's the other Weasley?"

So many people still didn't know the details of what had happened at Hogwarts a few weeks before. Sure, it was common knowledge that Harry had finally vanquished Voldemort (as George always believed would happen). However, the _Daily Prophet_ still hadn't managed to publish its report of the historic night. Apparently, it would be a triple-sized issue covering all the important details.

So to every person who asked about Fred's whereabouts, George just looked down until someone nearby explained the situation. Every time, the person would be horrified and cover their mouths. One woman had the gall to ask, "Oh! That must have been when your ear became malformed!"

The one highlight of the day was when Luna Lovegood, a 7th year from Hogwarts, came into the shop. "George, the shop is lovely, just the way I hoped it would be."

"Yes, it's... very big," George tried to force a friendly smile onto his face, but knew it probably looked all wrong.

"You're welcome...you know, I think I'd be a good choice for a position here. I don't expect much pay, don't worry! Here, I've brought a list of qualifications, along with a letter from my father. He's a very important magazine editor." Luna beamed.

George was taken aback. Nobody'd so much as mentioned wanting to work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes since Fred's incident, despite the "HELP WANTED. UGLY WITCHES NEED NOT APPLY." sign in the window (courtesy of Fred, when the store was just opening). He couldn't think of an adequate reply, so he made due with, "Well... erm... thank you."

Later that night, George laid in bed and listened to the abnormal silence. Usually, this would be when he would chat with Fred about the store, about new products, about anything really. Now, he simply stared at the ceiling and imagined having his brother there.

_ What do you think, eh Fred? Not too bad for an opening day. That therapist's a nightmare, though._

Unfortunately, he couldn't imagine Fred's witty retort. The Fred in his mind only stared at him with those blank, dead eyes from the funeral.

George's last thought, though, before finally falling asleep, was, _Well Fred, I think I have a good feeling about Luna._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I still don't own Harry Potter. My lawyers are working on it. :)

Also, I'm going to try to answer more of my reviews. Promise! But I can't respond if YOU don't respond. And I'd like to thank SnapeFanatic1 (for the Subway), RazzleDazzle, and UnexpectedInspiration for the Chapter 2 reviews. You guys rock.

* * *

George awoke with a start. There was a sharp rapping at the window. "What the…?" George had no idea who it could be, because his window was on the second floor. Also, it wasn't yet dawn. The sun was struggling to make it over the hills in the distance. Bleary-eyed, George walked to the window. 

Luna was holding herself up with one hand on the windowsill. With her free hand, she was banging on the glass. "George! There you are! Open up, my hand is getting tired!"

George stared incredulously at Luna for a moment, then hastened to open the window. He took Luna by her hands and helped her into the small apartment. "Erm… Hello, Luna."

"Good morning, George," Now that she was safely inside, she seemed pleasant and calm. Her blue eyes were serene and untroubled.

_What the hell? _"It's not really morning yet, actually. Come to think of it, it's still dark outside!" George's voice was loaded with sarcasm. "Oh, and also, we use doors here. I suppose I should've put a sign up or something, eh?"

Luna smiled, but didn't seem to get the joke. "No, I use doors quite frequently. But I knocked on the door of the shop and you didn't open up, so I climbed the lattice."

"Yes, that would be because it's nighttime. I sleep during the night, actually."

"I sleep, too. The reason I came here so early is because I knew you'd want to give me a tour and show me the place, you know, before my first day."

George stared at the bizarre girl. No wonder Ron was always laughing when Luna was around. He debated sending her away, but he glanced around the bare apartment. He wasn't sure he could take another waking moment alone with his thoughts. "Alright, then. But no more creepy window-climbing in the middle of the night!" Luna looked saddened by this.

He walked Luna downstairs and showed her how to work the till. He took care in telling her everything important about the products, and explained the magic involved. Her reactions were unpredictable, so he found himself much more engaged than usual.

"So this is SpellCheck Quill. Guaranteed to keep you from making spelling errors."

"Why would you want one of those?" She looked perplexed.

"Well, to look smarter, I suppose."

"I think that's a waste of time, myself. You should make a quill that makes you more imaginative, or a quill that'll help you write witty dialogue." She smiled good-naturedly.

He looked back at her. He found himself staring quite a few times, wondering if this was really the way her mind worked. Oddly, though, he found that she had a knack for suggesting things that might actually work in his store. "We could, I suppose."

The tour continued for much longer than George expected. Before he knew it, Verity was letting herself in with her key. "Oh, hello, George…" She stopped short when she saw Luna. She looked back and George with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Friend of yours?"

"Oh! Yes, Verity, meet Luna, she's our new employee. Luna, this is Verity, the store manager." Luna walked forward with her hand outstretched. Verity stared at it for a moment. Then, a smile plastered itself on her face, and she shook hands. George noticed that she was gripping rather hard, and Luna wiggled her fingers afterwards to make sure they weren't broken.

"Great, now that we know each other…" George trailed off. Why was this so awkward? Verity seemed predisposed not to get along with Luna. "Verity, let me show you the new shipment of Puking Pastilles in the back. Luna, could you practice working the till for a few minutes?"

Luna smiled and walked to the till. She immediately began pushing all the buttons, and the galleons in the drawer came spewing out. "Luna! Practice as if a customer was paying for something!" Luna looked sad again, and pushed only one button at a time.

Verity followed George into the back, her high heels clacking on the wooden floor. As soon as they reached the back room, Verity turned towards George. "Well? What is it?" Her smile seemed oddly fake, and George was surprised. Verity had never acted this way before. On the contrary, she'd always been cheerful and ready to compromise.

"You seem uncomfortable with this. Do you have a problem with Luna?"

"Not at all! I do hope you've prepared her for today, though! We're going to be quite busy!" Verity's smile couldn't possibly get any bigger, George noticed. He could count all of her teeth.

"Erm, yes. I think I have. She's got some great ideas, actually," George could tell that this was the wrong thing to say. Verity grinned maniacally for another moment, nodded, and then exited the back room without another word.

Another uncomfortable hour passed, and George opened the store. Immediately, they were packed with early-morning shoppers. Luna seemed quite in her element, with her magenta robes lighting up the color on her cheeks. She showed people around the store, repeating not only the details George had told her that morning, but things George had never even mentioned. "See these quills, madam? I found they work best when you're feeling frustrated with your work. It seems to motivate them." George knew this to be true, but had no idea how Luna had figured it out. He continued to be astonished as the day wore on.

He was also surprised by Verity, but in an entirely different way. Her normally perky demeanor had weakened, and she tried to stay behind the till as much as possible.

When Luna asked her a question about the price of an Instant Daydream, Verity bristled. "Well, you mean George didn't mention it this morning? Here, let _me_ help you, sir." She bumped Luna to the side as she walked by. To Luna's credit (or maybe it was just the way she was), it didn't seem to impact her at all. She continued to help the customers just the way she had been previously.

The day went by without any major events. George did notice Angelina Johnson wandering around the shop, but he quickly ducked upstairs to his room to avoid her. He had no desire to think about the past today.

The store finally closed at 8 PM. They were all wiped out from a day of hectic sales. Luna was on a tall ladder restocking the Exploding Snap cards, and Verity was below, sweeping the floor clean of all the dirty footprints gathered during the day.

"Oh, honestly, Luna!" snapped Verity, "You're stacking the boxes all wrong!"

Luna frowned in confusion. "I am? How can you stack boxes wrong?"

"You've got to make it artistic! Don't just make one tall stack! Rearrange it somehow." She rolled her eyes as if this were obvious, and smirked.

"Oh, I'm sure you're quite right. Thank you, Verity!" Luna smiled. She began pulling the boxes out at "artistic" angles. The stack started to teeter.

"Luna! What are you doing?" George finally noticed the dangerously unstable stack.

"Being creative!"

And, as Verity smiled, the stack lost balance. It toppled over, and there was an explosion. The last thing George saw before the lights went out was Luna, standing at the top of the ladder with her eyes wide.

* * *

Oh, no! Verity! My all-knowing sister just informed me that a "good cliffhanger" doesn't endanger the life of the irritating character... but c'mon. You don't want her to actually DIE, right? ...

Tell me what you think! I hope you liked the chapter. : )


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I updated (not to state the obvious or anything)! And yeah, it took a really long time... I hope nobody was disappointed. Unfortunately for me, I go to school.

This chapter's a really short one, I admit, but the next will be muuuuch longer. I promise it's important for me to keep it this length. As always, feedback is amazing. Thanks so much for reading : )

* * *

The dust settled, and George opened his eyes, terrified of what he would see.

Verity was on the ground. Her hair was sprawled awkwardly around her head, but she looked fine. Luna was still frozen, staring around the shop.

The shop was what made George pause. It was a mess. Shelves had been cracked, with their contents all over the floor. He couldn't even tell what most of the rubble was. All around him was shattered glass, splintered wood, and broken toys. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was just short of destroyed.

To his surprise, the sight didn't do anything to George. Nothing at all; not sadness, nor frustration, nor hopelessness. He just looked around at the shop, blankly. After all, he wasn't sure he had belonged in the old shop, full of life. All of Fred's inventions were broken now.

Luna broke the silence first, "Er, George? I think she might've tricked me."

George didn't answer. He walked over to Verity and shook her slightly, trying to revive her.

Verity stirred. She looked around, and then back at George, and her eyes were filled with tears. She was a different person from the bristly woman she'd been all day. "Oh, George... your shop... it was all my fault!" She started to cry.

Luna came over to George and put a hand on his shoulder. George stood up and let her lead him to his room.

He heard Luna rummaging in his medicine cabinet (normally, he would've protested, but for now he just closed his eyes). Luna came over in a moment with a half-empty bottle of potion. It was unmarked, so George had to assume that Luna knew what she was doing.

"Open up. I think we're going to let you sleep awhile. Just relax."

George was immediately suspicious. Sure, he was pretty apathetic at the moment, but he drew the line at taking some random potion. "Right. I'm just going to take whatever mystery potion-"

He didn't get another word out, because Luna had shoved the spoon in is mouth. After that, he fell immediately into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Luna and Verity were snooping. They looked through old papers, notebooks, everything. They were looking for help. Finally, Verity struck gold. "Look, Luna! An address book!"

Luna grinned hugely, and took the book. "Well, to the Apothecary, then! We've got to borrow a few dozen owls, at least."

Arm in arm, they went out the door.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley was mopping her eyes with a handkerchief, beaming. Nearby, Harry was filling a box with Peruvian Darkness Powder. Angelina Johnson was having a very serious discussion with Luna about new flavors for flavored quills. The group counselor was nowhere to be seen. As Neville dropped a crate, Verity scolded him, "Quiet! You'll wake George!"

* * *

"There's no way this'll get done in the next day, Luna. Even you know that's true," Percy Weasley said as he tapped the to-do list.

"He's right. The potion only lasts so long!" Verity had dark circles under her eyes.

"Well, plenty more where that came from."

"We can't do this indefinitely. I just spoke with a representative from St. Mungo's. You do realize that this is completely illegal? It's dangerous, too. Anything could go wrong! I'm not going to lose him!" Percy looked frantic, and it hurt Luna to see Percy so upset. However, she knew what she had to do.

She looked at Percy with as much intensity as her blue eyes could hold. "Percy, you already have. We're trying to get him back, and that's worth any chance we have to take."

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Hello hello. I'm very excited to say that I've finally put a new chapter up! Merry Christmas to you all.

* * *

George's eyes opened slowly. His mind was foggy and he was having trouble remembering what had happened before he'd slept. He glanced at the window and smiled at the memory of Luna's knocking. His memories came back in a flash- the explosion! His shop! All of Fred's work…

George tried to sit up, but immediately fell back onto his pillow. His back was killing him! And it wasn't just his back, either. Every bone in George's body felt stiff and weak. With an agonizing jolt of pain, George reached up to touch his face and gasped. He had at least a month's worth of a beard on his face.

After slowly stretching for at least an hour, George felt ready to get out of bed. He hobbled to the bathroom and tried to wash the "haven't-showered-for-a-month" grime off of himself. When he emerged from the bathroom, he saw the sun coming up. Opening time was in about an hour, George estimated. Not that it mattered, of course. The store was nothing but debris and broken boxes now.

Then, he heard the door downstairs being unlocked. He heard hushed voices and footsteps. Oddly, it sounded like a big crowd of people were coming inside. This was impossible, of course… only Luna and Verity had the keys. There must have been a break-in! George knew that there wasn't much of value left in the store, but the idea of some young thugs defiling his store made his blood boil. Wand out, he crept towards the staircase.

The voices were quiet, but he made out a few whispers. Nothing that he heard made sense, of course.

"Quick, hurry! We haven't got much time!"

"I can't believe he hasn't come down yet. WHY aren't you hiding?"

"Look, that one's still got glass shards! Who missed this shelf?"

George waited for a couple minutes, hoping to get a clue as to who was there. He simply couldn't tell, though. The voices were too quiet. Whoever they were, though, they were obviously in a rush. George couldn't wait any longer. He took a deep breath and launched himself down the stairs, ready for a fight.

"GEORGE! You're awake!" The crowd rushed at him. George was absolutely stunned.

Everyone he knew was here. Luna, at the head of the crowd and holding a clipboard, grinned at him. His whole family, Harry, Verity (with an eyepatch), the Hogwarts Quidditch team, his professors; bright, happy faces surrounded him. George was practically suffocating from the people on all sides, but he didn't mind. For once, there was no trace of anxiety on their faces as they looked at him. Nobody stared at him like he was missing something. Everyone was just happy. Which brought him to his next source of confusion. What were they doing here, anway?

The crowd slowly parted, but George didn't notice at first. He was too busy smiling at everyone, but he was growing more and more confused. Finally, he looked past the people around him and noticed his surroundings.

The shop was… well, indescribable. No shopper would be able to tell that there'd been a disaster there. The wood floors glistened like brand-new. And the products! Not only were the old items back where they belonged, but there were new things to look at everywhere! George marveled at a wooden cat toy that was jumping from shelf to shelf. There was a new map for sale of Filch's office that showed where he kept everything, including student records and confiscated items! Another new improvement was the "Memory Boxes", miniature pensieves for children. The whole place was fixed up and so much better than it had been before.

The shop was silent for a long time as George walked around, looking at each and every new item.

Finally, he spoke. "Well… bloody hell." Everyone laughed nervously, worried a little by George's slow reaction. "How'd you do all this?"

Ginny stepped forward and cleared her voice. "Everybody helped. Verity and Luna got in contact with everyone, and we all met up to figure out how to make the shop even better than before. Luna has such great ideas for the shop, George!" The crowd smiled at Luna, who grinned and looked at the floor with red cheeks.

Hermione spoke up. "We just… we didn't want you to have to do it alone. It was too much for one person to handle! And we've all been trying to think of something we can do for you."

George found himself at a rare loss for words. His throat felt tight as he managed to say, "This is the best thing I've ever seen. Thank you… I really don't know what to say about it all."

Ginny came even closer to George, and she stared at him with the intensity for which she was famous. "This isn't all, George. We're not done. Think of today as day one."

* * *

Well, that's it! As always, please review and tell me what you think. I can't decide if I should leave it as is or add another chapter (I have one roughly planned). 


End file.
